Mounting device for lighting fixtures

ABSTRACT

This invention is directed to a mounting device for hanging lighting fixtures on a suspended frame member. The suspended frame member has a conduit portion for carrying electrical wires and has a downwardly facing trackway portion including two parallel spaced-apart shoulder portions. The mounting device of this invention has an elongated mounting bar on which the lighting fixture is fastened. A hanger means provided at one end of the mounting bar is provided with a pair of outwardly extending arm members disposed crosswise to the length of the mounting bar for supporting the one end of the mounting device between the two parallel shoulder portions. At the other end of the mounting bar is a clamping means having a pair of springbiased latching fingers that snap into engagement with the parallel shoulder portions upon the mounting bar being swung up into the trackway.

Unite Porter et States Patent 1 March 6, 1973 [75] Inventors: David H.Porter; Gene R. Raddatz,

both of Fort Atkinson, Wis.

[73] Assignee: Thomas Industries, Inc., Fort Atkinson, Wis.

[22] Filed: April 10, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 242,650

[52] US. Cl. ..240/52 R, 240/52.1, 240/78 R,

[51] Int. Cl ..F21v 21/00 [58] Field of Search.....240/52 R, 52.1, 78 R,73 OD; 248/342, 343; 52/28 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS3,565,385 2/1971 Zurawski ..248/343 2,503,876 4/1950 Krauss ...248/343 X3,246,074 4/1966 Neumann et al. ....248/343 X 3,589,660 6/1971 Dunckel..248/343 3,190,604 6/1965 Jorgensen et al... ...248/343 X 3,504,1723/1970 Liberman ..240/78 R 2,967,040 1/1961 Picha ..240/78 R X FOREIGNPATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 264,093 8/1968 Austria ..240/78R 452,193 10/1948Canada ..248/342 Primary ExaminerSamuel S. Matthews AssistantExaminer-Richard L. Moses Att0rney.lohn A. Dienner et al.

[57] ABSTRACT This invention is directed to a mounting device forhanging lighting fixtures on a suspended frame member. The suspendedframe member has a conduit portion for carrying electrical wires and hasa downwardly facing trackway portion including two parallel spaced-apartshoulder portions. The mounting device of this invention has anelongated mounting bar on which the lighting fixture is fastened. Ahanger means provided at one end of the mounting bar is provided with apair of outwardly extending arm members disposed crosswise to the lengthof the mounting bar for supporting the one end of the mounting devicebetween the two parallel shoulder portions. At the other end of themounting bar is a clamping means having a pair of spring-biased latchingfingers that snap into engagement with the parallel shoulder portionsupon the mounting bar being swung up into the trackway.

6 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures J3 JO #0 n a a: 16 o l 62 PATENTED 6%3,719,818

SHEET 2 OF 3 MOUNTING DEVICE FOR LIGHTING FIXTURES BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION This invention relates to a mounting device for lightingfixtures, and in particular to a mounting device for lighting fixturesfor hanging in a commercial lighting display room, in which the mountingdevice is designed to permit the quick mounting and dismounting of thelighting fixture on a suspended frame member.

It is common practice to retail outlets selling lighting products tohave a lighting showroom for displaying a large number of lightingfixtures on the ceiling. There is a need in these type of display areasfor a mounting device that will permit the lighting fixture to bequickly mounted or dismounted on the ceiling. This invention satisfiesthis need by providing a very simple but uniquely designed mountingdevice attached to the lighting fixture that can be quickly mounted in adownwardly facing trackway of a suspended frame member without the needfor any tools.

One of the novel features of this invention is that one end of themounting device includes a means for hanging the lighting fixture on thesuspended frame member while it is electrically connected to an outletcarried by the frame member. Thereafter, the other end of the mountingdevice is swung up into the trackway and automatically clamps onto thetrackway to provide a very rigid mounting support for the lightingfixture.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a mounting device forhangin g lighting fixtures on a suspended frame member having adownwardly facing trackway. The mounting device comprises an elongatedbody portion having a means for mounting the lighting fixture and hangermeans at one end of the body portion including a pair of crosswiseextending arm members which extend between two parallel spaced shoulderportions in a trackway to support the mounting device and associatedlighting fixture. At the other end of the elongated body portion is aclamping means including a pair of latching fingers that extendcrosswise to the length of the body portion and are selectively moved bya lever means between a latching position and retracted position suchthat the distance between the outer ends of the latching fingers is lessthan the width of the distance separating the two parallel shoulderportions in the downwardly facing trackway when in the retractedposition and is greater than this width when in the latching position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a better understanding of thisinvention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the mounting device of thisinvention holding a lighting fixture on a suspended frame member;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the suspended frame member of FIG.land a partial view showing the hanging means of the mounting device ofthis invention inserted between two parallel spaced shoulder portions ofthe trackway;

FIG. 3 illustrates the mounting device of this invention and associatedlighting fixture in an intermediate assembly operation where theelectrical wires of the fixture are connected to an electrical outlet inthe suspended frame member;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a portion of the suspended frame member ofFIG. 1 showing one of the mounting devices connected in its trackway andthe associated lighting fixture electrically connected to an outletcarried by the frame member;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of FIG. 4 andlooking in the direction of the arrows de-' picting the clamping meansof the mounting device in the latching position;

FIG. 6 is identical to FIG. 5 with the clamping means shown in theretracted position; and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating the preferred embodiment ofthis invention.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to FIG. 1, there isshown two suspended frame members generally designated by the referencenumeral 10 of the type employed in lighting showrooms or retail storesfor the purpose of displaying lighting fixtures. Suspended frame members10 form no part of this invention and are illustrated only to aid in .acomplete understanding of this invention. Suspended frame members 10 arehung from the ceiling or roof 14 of a building by a plurality ofmounting bracket and rod combinations -12 of the type generally known inthe construction industry.

The suspended frame members 10 have an elongated shape with an upperconduit portion 16 and a downwardly facing trackway portion 18. At thelower end of the downwardly facing trackway portion 18 are a pair ofhorizontal flanges 20 whose outer skirt portion serve as the supportingsurface for a suspended ceiling 22. The inner edge of the horizontalflanges 20 define a pair of parallel spaced-apart shoulder portions 24(FIG. 2). As shown in FIG. 2, the inner edges 26 of the parallelshoulder portions 24 are upturned and the space between the innerlateral edges presents a rectangular opening 28.

The conduit portion 16 of the suspended frame members 10 has a removabletop cover 30 fastened on the upper ends of the sidewalls 32 and 34 ofconduit portion 16. A pair of spaced downwardly-extending runners 31 areresiliently snapped between a pair of horizontal ribs 33 formed on theinner surfaces of sidewalls 32 and 34 to hold the cover in place. Cover30 may be quickly removed by prying up on one side of the cover. The topcover 30, sidewalls 32 and 34, and bottom wall 36 define an elongatedrectangular passageway 38 for carrying the wires of the electricalsystem to connect to the various lighting fixtures. -At selectedintervals along the bottom wall36 of the conduit portion 16 there isprovided electrical outlet plugs 40 (FIG. 4) and two-way electricalswitches 42 having a pull-cord 44. Switches 42 are electricallyconnected to the adjacent outlets 40.

Referring to FIG. 7, the mounting device of this invention is generallydesignated by the reference numeral 50 and has an elongated body portion52. The elongated body portion 52 which is shownas a rectangular shapedmounting bar 54is illustrated with two alternative means for fasteningthe canopy of a lighting fixture, namely a pair of spaced threadedapertures 56 or a threaded center nipple 58.

At one end of the mounting bar 54 is provided a hanger means 60Comprising a flange portion 62 offset from the body portion 52 and apair of laterally extending arm members 64. The arm members 64 arespaced apart a distance greater than the width of opening 28 and areprovided with notches 66 formed on their inside edges adjacent the pointof intersection with the mounting bar 54. The notches 66 are shaped toconform to the configuration of the upturned lateral edges 26 ofshoulder portions 24 for the purpose of securely holding the mountingdevice 50 and associated lighting fixture in the preassembledorientation of FIG. 3 to allow the electrical plug of the lightingfixture to be connected to electrical outlet 40.

A clamping means 70 is provided at the other end of the mounting device50 and uses an upstanding support member 72 to pivotally mount a pair ofactuating levers 74 and associated latching fingers 76. The upstandingmember 72 is formed as an L-shaped bracket 80 having its lower legsecured to the mounting bar 54, as by welding. Outwardly of the locationof upstanding support member 72 the elongated body portion 52 is shapedwith an offset flange portion 82, and an elongated slot 84 is formed inthis flange portion 82 in a crosswise direction to the length ofmounting bar 54.

The pair of levers 74 are pivotally mounted by means of a pair of pivotpins 86 at the upper end of upstanding support member 72, and bothlevers 74 extend downwardly through the crosswise slot 84 to providegripping portions 88 below the outer flange portion 82. The pair oflevers 74 are constantly urged to pivot outwardly against the oppositeends of slot 84 by means of a torsion spring 90 mounted on the upper endof upstanding support member 72- with its two spring arms 92 wrappedabout the pair of intumed ears 94 on levers The pair of latching fingers76 is integrally formed with the pair of levers 74 having a triangularshaped configuration extending laterally outwardly of the levers 74above the crosswise slot 84. When the levers 74 are free to extendagainst the outer ends of the crosswise slot 84, the distance betweenthe outer ends of the latching fingers 76 is greater than the width ofopening 28 to cause the fingers to be in a latching engagement with theshoulder portions 26 as depicted in FIG. 5. When the gripping portion 88of the levers 74 are brought together the distance between the outerends of the latching finger 76 is less than the width of opening 28permitting the clamping means 70 to drop out of the trackway as depictedin FIG. 6.

In the use of the mounting device 50, the first step is to fasten thecanopy of a lighting fixture onto the mounting bar 54. In FIG. 4, thismounting arrangement is illustrated by a threaded stud 96 screwed intothe threaded boss 58 of mounting device 50. Once the canopy is attached,the hanging means 60 is raised up through the opening 28 and twisted sothat the arm members 64 extend crosswise to the two shoulder portions 24as depicted in FIG. 2. The mounting device 50 and associated lightingfixture are than disposed in the preassembled orientation of FIG. 3which allows the mounting device 50 to be slid along the trackway untilplaced in a desired location. Once this location is selected, the leads98 from the lighting fixture are electrically connected to theelectrical outlet 40 by virtue of a male plug 100. The lower end ofmounting device 50 is then swung up into the trackway until thespringbiased finger 76 cam over the upstanding inner edges 64 of thepair of shoulders 24 and spring outwardly to the latching position ofFIG. 5. Upon the completion of this step the lighting fixture andmounting device 50 are firmly mounted in place.

To remove the fixture, the above steps are reversed. The gripping finger74 are squeezed together until the latching finger 76 clear the inneredges of shoulder portions 24 (FIG. 6) allowing the fixture and mountingdevice to swing down to the FIG. 3 orientation. When the fixture andmounting device 50 reach the position of FIG. 3, the male plug 100 isunplugged from the electrical outlet 40, and the latching device 50 islifted slightly and twisted a sufficient amount to clear the opening 28(as depicted by the dotted lines in FIG. 2).

While we have shown and described what we believe to be a preferredembodiment of this invention, it will be understood by those skilled inthe art that various rearrangements and modifications may be madetherein without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.

We claim:

1. A mounting device for hanging a lighting fixture on a suspended framehaving a downwardly facing trackway including two parallel spaced-apartshoulder portions which define a rectangular opening therebetween, saidmounting device comprising an elongated body portion, means for mountingthe lighting fixture on said body portion, hanger means at one end ofsaid body portion including a pair of arm members extending crosswise tothe length of said body portion, the distance between the outer ends ofsaid arm members being greater than the width of said rectangularopening, and clamping means at the other end of said body portionincluding a pair of latching fingers extending crosswise to the lengthof said body portion and actuating lever means for moving said latchingfingers between latching and retracted positions, where the distancebetween the outer ends of said latching fingers is less than the widthof said rectangular opening in said retracted position and greater thanthe width of said rectangular opening in said latching position.

2. A mounting device as defined in claim 1, wherein said hanger meanscomprises a flange portion integrally formed with and offset from saidelongated body portion, said pair of arm members formed at the oppositesides of said flange portion and extending outwardly beyond the lateraledges of said body portion.

3. A mounting device as defined in claim 1, wherein said clamping meansfurther includes an upstanding support member at said other end of saidbody portion, and a slot formed in said elongated body portion crosswiseto its length adjacent the base of said upstanding support member, andsaid actuating lever means comprises a pair of levers pivotally mountedat the upper end of said upstanding support member and extendingdownwardly through said slot, and spring means urging said levers topivot away from each other, and wherein said latching fingers areintegrally formed on the intermediate portion of said levers above saidslot.

4. A mounting device for hanging a lighting fixture on a suspended framehaving a downwardly facing trackway including two parallel spaced-apartshoulder portions having upturned inner lateral edges, the space betweensaid inner lateral edges presenting a rectangular opening, said mountingdevice comprising a rectangular mounting bar of a width less than thewidth of said rectangular opening, means for mounting a lighting fixtureon said mounting bar, clamping means at one end of said mounting bar forreleasable engagement with said two shoulder portions, and hanger meansat the other end of said mounting bar including a pair of arm membersextending crosswise to said mounting bar, the distance between the outerends of said arm members being greater than the width of saidrectangular opening and notches formed on the inside edge of said armmembers adjacent the point of intersection with said mounting bar of ashape conforming to the configuration of said upturned lateral edges ofsaid two shoulder portions.

5. A mounting device as defined in claim 4, wherein said hanger meanscomprises a flange portion integrally formed with and offset from saidmounting bar.

6. A mounting device as defined in claim 4, wherein said clamping meanscomprises an upstanding support member at said one end of said mountingbar, a slot formed in said mounting bar crosswise to its length adjacentthe base of said upstanding member, a pair of levers pivotally mountedat the upper end of said upstanding support member and extendingdownwardly through said slot, a pair of latching fingers carried on theoutside lateral sides of said levers and disposed above said slot, andspring means for urging said levers to pivot to the opposite ends ofsaid slot, where the distance between the outer ends of said latchingfingers is greater than the width of said rectangular opening when saidlevers engage said opposite ends of said slot and less than the width ofsaid rectangular opening when the outer ends of said levers are broughttogether.

1. A mounting device for hanging a lighting fixture on a suspended framehaving a downwardly facing trackway including two parallel spaced-apartshoulder portions which define a rectangular opening therebetween, saidmounting device comprising an elongated body portion, means for mountingthe lighting fixture on said body portion, hanger means at one end ofsaid body portion including a pair of arm members extending crosswise tothe length of said body portion, the distance between the outer ends ofsaid arm members being greater than the width of said rectangularopening, and clamping means at the other end of said body portionincluding a pair of latching fingers extending crosswise to the lengthof said body portion and actuating lever means for moving said latchingfingers between latching and retracted positions, where the distancebetween the outer ends of said latching fingers is less than the widthof said rectangular opening in said retracted position and greater thanthe width of said rectangular opening in said latching position.
 1. Amounting device for hanging a lighting fixture on a suspended framehaving a downwardly facing trackway including two parallel spaced-apartshoulder portions which define a rectangular opening therebetween, saidmounting device comprising an elongated body portion, means for mountingthe lighting fixture on said body portion, hanger means at one end ofsaid body portion including a pair of arm members extending crosswise tothe length of said body portion, the distance between the outer ends ofsaid arm members being greater than the width of said rectangularopening, and clamping means at the other end of said body portionincluding a pair of latching fingers extending crosswise to the lengthof said body portion and actuating lever means for moving said latchingfingers between latching and retracted positions, where the distancebetween the outer ends of said latching fingers is less than the widthof said rectangular opening in said retracted position and greater thanthe width of said rectangular opening in said latching position.
 2. Amounting device as defined in claim 1, wherein said hanger meanscomprises a flange portion integrally formed with and offset from saidelongated body portion, said pair of arm members formed at the oppositesides of said flange portion and extending outwardly beyond the lateraledges of said body portion.
 3. A mounting device as defined in claim 1,wherein said clamping means further includes an upstanding supportmember at said other end of said body portion, and a slot formed in saidelongated body portion crosswise to its length adjacent the base of saidupstanding support member, and said actuating lever means comprises apair of levers pivotally mounted at the upper end of said upstandingsupport member and extending downwardly through said slot, and springmeans urging said levers to pivot away from each other, and wherein saidlatching fingers are integrally formed on the intermediate portion ofsaid levers above said slot.
 4. A mounting device for hanging a lightingfixture on a suspended frame having a downwardly facing trackwayincluding two parallel spaced-apart shoulder portions having upturnedinner lateral edges, the space between said inner lateral edgespresenting a rectangular opening, said mounting device comprising arectangular mounting bar of a width less than the width of saidrectangular opening, means for mounting a lighting fixture on saidmounting bar, clamping means at one end of said mounting bar forreleasable engagement with said two shoulder portions, and hanger meansat the other end of said mounting bar including a pair of arm membersextending crosswise to said mounting bar, the distance between the outerends of said arm members being greater than the width of saidrectangular opening and notches formed on the inside edge of said armmembers adjacent the point of intersection with said mounting bar of ashape conforming to the configuration of said upturned lateral edges ofsaid two shoulder portions.
 5. A mounting device as defined in claim 4,wherein said hanger means comprises a flange portion integrally formedwith and offset from said mounting bar.